Intel i7-10700K CPU stuck at 100% all the time.

[JamesBaldwin]

My CPU is stuck at 100% all the time, whether my PC is idle, gaming etc.

The temperature sits at around 75 degrees celsius mimimum as well, which over a long time cannot be good for it. CPU's don't usually run that hot when the PC is idle.

I disabled all applications in Task Manager on startup apps, just to check if any of those was causing the issue, but that didn't solve it.

The screenshots attached are after I turned my PC on for a couple of minutes, it was idle, not performing anything stressful.

Help much appreciated, before my CPU dies from being too hot all the time!!

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello JamesBaldwin

Welcome to the communities! I can see on the screenshot that you are referring to 100 percent usage. May I please know if the system reboots or receives a blue screen after this occurs? Based on the screenshot, the CPU does not show any thermal throttling; however, since I can see your concern about the temperature, I want to take a look at the cooling system that you have used in the system. May I please know it's make and model as well? It would be beneficial too if you could share with us the SSU logs from your system, this way we will be more familiar with your configuration. I will be waiting for your reply.

Ramyer M.

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[JamesBaldwin]

Hey there, thanks for the reply!

The system does NOT reboot or recieve a blue screen, the PC in that sense is working nicely.

I'm not 100% sure on what exact CPU cooler I have, is there a way I can find out? I have attached a picture which might help?

Attached is the SSU log file also.

Look forward to hearing from you.

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello JamesBaldwin, 

Thank you for replying back to us. Unfortunately, since the cooler is purchased separately from the CPU, we are unable to determine it's model. Just to confirm, did you purchase the custom build desktop as a whole package? If you do, you may reach out to your place of purchase to determine the cooling system. I did notice some dust accumulating in the photo you have sent and you may want to make sure they do not accumulate too much as well as this can also increase the temperature in your system. From what I am seeing the 75 degrees you mentioned is still within the allowable maximum temperature of the 10700K that you posses which is 100 degrees and since the system does not boot or crash, I am not seeing any overheating issues. This is because our Processors have internal protections to prevent against excessive temperatures. For now, I highly recommend referring to this article to make sure your system do not overheat: Overheating Symptoms and Troubleshooting for Intel® Boxed Processors. 

However, we do need to address the 100 percent cpu usage of your processor. Kindly please running out Intel Processor and Diagnostic Tool. Are there also any pending windows update in your system? I will be waiting for your reply.  Please also conduct a scan of your system using the Windows security so we can check for possible malwares in your system. I will be waiting for your reply.

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[JamesBaldwin]

Hi there,

Yes, the PC was purchased as a whole unit, built by Chillblast.

I have attached the test results from the "Intel Processor and Diagnostic Tool" and also a screenshot showing the results from the full system security scan.

I look forward to hearing from you.

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello JamesBaldwin, 

Thank you for sharing the results. For the model of the fan used in your system, it is best if you can contact Chillblast to determine the model as they are the one who assembled this system for you.

I do have here some steps that I would like for you to try the address the high CPU usage of your i7-10700K Processor. Kindly please try the following steps:

• Update your driver to version 31.0.101.2127
• Update your BIOS to version 7D17v1C
• Check your Power Options by clicking the start menu and typing “Edit Power Plan”. Once open, click “Power Options” in the address bar at the top of the window. Click “Show additional plans”, then enable a non-power saver plan.
• Make sure your Windows is updated

If the issue still persists after doing so, please let us know the changes you have made in your system before the issue occurred. I will be waiting for your reply.

Ramyer M.
Intel Customer Support Technician

[JamesBaldwin]

Hello,

I have made all of the recommended changes you have suggested, unfortunately I am still getting the same issue.

I'm not aware of any changes I've made to the system since purchasing it. Aside from standard use, such as downloading games etc. - I've not changed anything out of the ordinary.

Is there anything else that could be causing this?

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello JamesBaldwin, 

I am sorry to hear that this did not resolve the issue. I want to take a look at this further for you and as such, I will proceed in coordinating this with our team for further investigation. I promise to update this thread once an update is available. Thank you for your patience and cooperation. 

Ramyer M.

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[JamesBaldwin]

Thank you, I look forward to hearing from you soon.

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello JamesBaldwin, 

Thank you for patiently waiting. Based on the logs, we can confirm that there is nothing wrong with the processor and there are no software threats on your system. To know the source of high CPU utilization, we need to investigate the process that is using the processor.

 To check the running processes within your system, please do the following:

1. Download the Process Explorer tool
2. Run Process Explorer as an administrator.
3. Right-click the process, select Properties, and then select the Threads tab.
4. Select the thread that consumes high CPU, and then select Stack to view the functions that are being run. Once you do, please share with us the results.

If you wish to get the better stack information result, configure symbols in the Process Explorer. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Install Debugging Tools for Windows.
2. Run Process Explorer as an administrator.
3. Select the Options menu, and then select Configure Symbols.
4. Change the Dbghelp.dll path to C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x64\dbghelp.dll, and then select OK.

I will be waiting for your reply.

Ramyer M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JamesBaldwin]

Hi there,

I tried to carry out the above process. Attached is a screenshot that shows the error message I recieve whenever I try to select 'Stack'.

Please advise, look forward to hearing from you.

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello JamesBaldwin, 

Thank you for sharing this information. Let us check this information internally and get back to you on this thread as soon as possible. By the way, thank you for sticking around while we take a look at this for you. 

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello JamesBaldwin,

Thank you for patiently waiting. Upon coordinating your case with my team , we want to set your expectations that the high CPU usage you encountered may need further evaluation from Microsoft support. 

For now, we do recommend following the steps outlined in Microsoft's article: : High CPU usage troubleshooting guidance under the paragraph Svchost process

If the issue persists, we highly recommend reaching out to Microsoft Support for assistance especially if the service is related to the operating system.

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician